Advertising sign



April 11, 1939. R. J. GUBA ADVERTISING SIGN Filed Oct. 1, 1937 I INVEIQTGR fia zymorzd (f Gfa 6a VV/TIVESS Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,154,088 ADVERTISING SIGN of New Jersey Application October 1, 1937, Serial No. 166,743

4 Claims.

The invention relates to advertising signs and involves an improvement in signs of the type in which names and other designs are formed by means of a suitable arrangement of a plurality of illuminating elements upon a support.

As disclosed herein, my invention is embodied in an electric sign in which a plurality of electric lamps are arranged upon a wire fabric support in such a manner as to form. an illuminated outline of a word intended for advertising purposes. One of the objects of the invention is the provision, in a sign of this general type, of a structure in which the electric lamps or other illuminating elements are rigidly supported so that their axes will remain parallel to each other. This object is accomplished by utilizing for the support a wire fabric the structure of which involves a substantial spacing between its opposite faces, with means in each face thereof for fric- Q tional engagement with the illuminating elements to retain them against movement.

Another object of the invention is the provision, in such a sign, of a Wire fabric support for the illuminating elements, which is sufficiently rigid to be self-sustaining. This object is attained by utilizing a wire fabric which is so woven as to provide a structure of such rigidity that it will serve as a support for the illuminating elements without the employment of a fame or similar reinforcing means.

A further object of the invention is the provision, in a sign of this character, of a wire fabric support in which the dimensions of the openings therethrough are not easily altered when the structure is in use. This is attained by utilizing a fabric having a weave of such a character that the openings in which the illuminating elements are inserted are formed by spiral strands extending in one direction and 'interengaging with each other, and by other spiral strands extending substantially at right angles thereto and interengaging with each other and with the first ones, the junction of the strands being of such a nature that the individual wires therein are not easily displaced by the insertion and removal of the illuminating elements or by any ordinary use to which such a sign is subjected.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a sign support which is sufficiently rigid to be self-sustaining and form a suitable base for the illuminating elements, and at the same time have an open-work formation such as will permit the wind to pass freely therethrough without substantial resistance when the sign is suspended out of doors.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a sign made in accordance with my invention, and showing the manner in which the illuminating elements may be arranged on the support to form a suitable design;

Fig. 2 is a detailed elevational view showing the character of the weave which I prefer to employ in the wire fabric support;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a form of illuminating element adapted for use with my invention.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the support which I prefer to use comprises a wire fabric 6 which is so woven as to provide a structure of substantial thickness and having openings 7 extending therethrough from one face to the other, the openings being arranged in rows 8, 9 substantially at right angles to each other. As shown herein, the rows 8, 9 are angularly arranged with respect to the horizontal and vertical edges of the support, but it will be understood that they may be so arranged as to be at right angles to the edges of the support if desired.

A type of wire fabric which I have found well adapted for use with my invention is made of a series of spiral turns of wire extending in the same direction and threaded together so that the loops of each strand interengage with the loops of both adjacent strands, and another series of spiral strands of wire arranged so that the strands are at right angles to the strands of the first series, With the loops of the strands interengaging as in the first series and also interengaging with the loops of the first series at their junction points, As shown in detail in Fig. 2 of the drawing, one set of spirals extends in a horizontal direction. The separate strands are identified as in, II, l2 and I3, and it will be noted that these are all of right hand turn. The spirals forming the series at right angles thereto are identified by the numerals l4, l5, l6 and I1, and are also of right hand turn. It will be understood, however, that the strands of both series may be of left hand turn if desired.

As will be apparent with a fabric woven in this manner, the junctions it of the strands are formed by four seperate interengaging loops, i9, 20, 2| and 22. It will also be apparent that such a weave produces a fabric in which the openings I are substantially square and extend through the fabric from one face to the other, and that the opposite faces of the fabric are spaced from each other to an extent determined by the diameter of the turn employed in the spirals. In effect, the woven structure is one in which each of the substantially square openings in one face of the fabric is alined with a substantially square opening in the opposite face of the fabric to form rows of openings extending through the fabric from one face to the other and arranged at right angles to each other.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, each side of the openings through the fabric is formed by two arc-shaped sections of Wire, 23 and 24, one of which is a partial turn of a strand extending in one direction, and the other of which is a partial turn of a strand extending at right angles thereto.

The ends of the strands may be bent back upon themselves to interlock with each other at the junction points along the edges of the fabric, as shown at 25. This formation aids materially in providing a rigid structure.

Although other forms of illuminating elements, such as reflector devices, may be utilized with my invention, I have disclosed the same herein in a form in which electric lamps are employed to provide illumination. The electric lamps may be any standard type of bulb 26 provided with a threaded base by means of which it is removably inserted in a lamp socket 21. The lamp socket 27 which I prefer to employ is of substantially cylindrical formation and is provided with an enlargement or tapered flange 28 at one end and a removable cap 29 threaded on the opposite end. A form of socket which I have found well adapted for this purpose is one in which the electrical connection between the wires Bil and the socket may be made by means of prongs extending from the baseof the socket so as to puncture the insulation and contact with the wire on. the interior thereof, the wires being held in position by the cap 29. This form of socket member is well known and a detailed description thereof is unnecessary.

The socket members 2! may be tapered slightly from end to end as shown in Fig. 4, and the diameter at the small end is preferably slightly greater than the width of the openings 1 through the fabric support 6, so that the socket members may be frictionally held in the openings.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the socket member 2'! engages with the arc-shaped sections 23, 24 of the Wire strands at eight different points. These points of engagement are indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, where it will be seen that the socket member contacts with strand l I at points a and b, with strand l2 at points 0 and d, with strand Id at points e and f, and with strand [5 at points g and it. As will be apparent, contact points a, d, e and h are in one face of the fabric, and contact points b, c, f and g are in the opposite face of the fabric.

These points of contact with the socket member 21 are thus such as to retain the socket member rigidly in position when it is inserted in any one of the openings through the fabric. The axes of the socket members will remain parallel to each other when the device is in use, so that the particular arrangement of illuminated design will not be destroyed through accidental movement of the illuminating elements. It will be understood, of course, that the socket members 21 are retained against endwise movement in the openings by means of the tapered flange 28 on one end and the removable cap 29 on the other. Inasmuch as the flange 28 is in engagement with the resilient sections of wire 23, 24 in one face of the support and the removable cap 29 is in engagement with the resilient sections 23, 24 in the opposite face of the support, a slight endwise movement of the socket member 21 is possible, although the resiliency of the arc-shaped sections 23, 24 operates to restore the socket member to its proper position when any pressure applied thereto is removed. Similarly, any sidewise pressure on the socket member is resisted by the sections 23, 24 of the Wire strands, and the resiliency of these sections operates to restore the socket member to its proper position upon the removal of any lateral pressure thereon. The socket members may therefore be said to be resiliently mounted upon the support in such a manner as to be restored to their proper positions in the design, thus avoiding any permanent disarrangement of the design due to accidental displacement.

While a certain form of my improvement, together with the preferred arrangement of the various parts thereof, has been disclosed herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise structure and arrangement of parts shown and described. The above description and the accompanying drawing are therefore to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms and arrangements, so long as they come within the scope of the appended claims.

What I desire to claim is:

l. A sign comprising a support made of wire fabric, the opposite faces of which are substantially spaced from each other and are provided with openings arranged in rows extending in directions substantially at right angles, each opening in each face being in alinement with a corresponding opening in the opposite face and having the boundary thereof formed of resilient sections of the strands of the fabric, and a plurality of illuminating elements supported in certain of said alined openings to form a pre-determined design, each of said elements having means thereon for engagement with said resilient sections in both faces of the support for retaining the element against movement with respect to the support.

2. A sign comprising a woven wire fabric having a plurality of interengaging spirals extending in one direction and a plurality of interengaging spirals extending substantially at right angles thereto and interlocking therewith to form angularly arranged rows of openings in the opposite faces, with each opening in one face alined with an opening in the opposite face, and a plurality of substantially cylindrical illuminating elements having a diameter slightly greater than the width of said openings and removably inserted in certain of the alined openings to form a pre-determined design.

3. A sign comprising a Woven wire fabric having a plurality of interengaging spirals of one twist extending in one direction and a plurality of interengaging spirals of the same twist extending at right angles thereto and interlocking therewith to form angularly arranged rows of openings in the opposite faces, with each opening in one face alining with an opening in the opposite face, and a plurality of substantially cylindrical illuminating elements having a diameter slightly greater than the width of said openings and inserted in certain of the alined openings to form a predetermined design.

4. An electric sign comprising a support made of a plurality of interengaging spirals of one twist extending in one direction and a plurality of spirals of the same twist extending at right angles thereto and interengaging with each other and with the spirals extending in the other direction to form angularly arranged rows of openings in the opposite faces of the support, with each opening in one face alining with an opening in the opposite face, and a plurality of substantially cylindrical electric lamp sockets having a diameter slightly greater than the width of said openings and inserted in certain of the alined openings to form a pre-determined design.

RAYMOND J. GUBA. 

